Freeze frame
by Lalalola012
Summary: Have you ever had those moments, I don't know, that you just want to freeze time so you'll be like that forever? Rimakai! ...P.S. Possibly a partner fic to For better or for worse. You can pretend it is.


It was an overcast day: Not sunny, but it wasn't raining. It was a perfect day for soccer, in the copper-haired boy's opinion. He never liked playing in the rain, because he always slipped around, despite his cleats. He didn't like playing in the sun, because it got too hot, humid, and it affected his playing. So it was the perfect weather, yet why was he doing so bad? The game was 1-4, with Seika academy in the lead. The ref's whistle sounded, signaling the end of the third half. He only had one half left to lead his team to victory; otherwise they were out of the championships.

She was irritated. Her mother had some meeting or rather to go to, thus she was unable to pick her up. The petite, blond girl sat on a bench outside of the school, sighing. Then, the high-pitched squeal of a whistle rung through her ears, bringing her to realize a nice alternative to her current situation. She stood up, and started to head over to the field, deciding it would be better to at least watch the soccer game rather than sit there in boredom.

* * *

The boy was rounding the corner of the bleachers when he felt himself run into something hard, the familiar feeling of running into another body. He stumbled back, looking up to see what he had run into THIS time.

"Mashiro?" he asked quizzically. "Why would YOU, of all people, be at a soccer game?"

The girl replied, fixing her headband and maintaining her standard complete composure. "My mother is at a meeting, so I decided to watch the game while I waited."

The boy grinned, for none of his friends or family bothered to show up. "Well, make sure to cheer nice and loud for me!"

"That's the cheer squad's job." She wrinkled her eyebrows. "Where are they now? I haven't seen anybody in any cheer outfits of any sort."

He stuck his arms behind his head. "Well, we did, but they decided to stop cheering for the soccer team because almost ALWAYS one of them would get knocked out by a stray ball."

A smiled crossed the golden-eyed girl's face to hear that, because honestly, she wasn't too favored by the cheerleaders. Suddenly, they heard the shrill cry of the whistle yet again, and they started heading back towards the field.

The girl stared in awe as she watched the young teens weave the ball through their legs. Especially the one olive-eyed boy, who made it seem as if his feet were his hands. She began to lean forward more and more, paying attention to every move that was made. When her home team got close to the goal, she would ball up her fists and bite her lip, in hopes they would score a goal. When the other team got close to her team's goal, however, she would furrow her brow in rage and grit her teeth. Her emotions ran wild as she got more into the game as it progressed. Involuntarily the girl began to cheer.

"Go, go, Sei-yo! Go, go, Sei-yo!" Her cheers became louder as a Seiyo player approached the goal.

"Go! Go! Sei! Yo! Go! Go! Sei! Yo!" she yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth to increase the volume.

_WHOOSH!_ The ball flew into the net and the girl pumped her fist into the air.

"Yeah, Seiyo! Keep it up, keep it up! Yeah, Seiyo,! Keep it up, keep it up!"

The boy ran across the field, overjoyed about his team's second goal. Finally, they could MAYBE, just MAYBE get back on track. He turned his head to see the small golden-haired girl leaping up and down cheering.

_Surely this isn't her first soccer game, is it?_

He could never remember a time when she had showed up to one, so he concluded that she hadn't ever seen a soccer game. He grimaced, thinking of how sad she would be if they didn't win. He threw his head up and decided that he would make sure she got what she wanted.

* * *

The game was 4-4, and they were nearing the end of the fourth anf final half. She wasn't sure her team would be able to catch up in time, and she was growing uneasy. This whole experience of a team sport was so alien to her, but it made her heart race. She knew how much this meant to her friend, the boy, and was determined to make sure he had the support that he needed, no matter the outcome.

"Go! Go! Sei! Yo!" The girl stood up and yelled as loud as she could. Even though it wasn't very loud, you could tell she was cheering her heart out. Meanwhile, the boy was weaving through the sea of soccer players, keeping the ball securely rolling between his feet. His opponents tried to take it, but he dodged each one.

"Yeah, Kukai! Keep it up! Keep it up! Kuuukai!"

Carefully planning his approach, he dribbled the ball between his feet in all directions, then finally going towards the goal at full-speed.

"Go Kukai!"

Each cheer made him burst in pride, giving him power. He didn't want to admit it, but the girl did hold a place in his heart. Though their paths were unlikely to cross, he would always have his arms out to her, no matter what.

"Keep it up!"

His body filled with immense adrenaline as he reared back, and kicked the ball with incredible force. In a split second, the referee's whistle sounded signaling the end of the game, the ball flew past the goalie, and it spun into the net. For a second, all was silent in the field.

"Seiyo academy wins the game!"

The girl leaped up in pure happiness. She wished she could freeze this moment in time forever, one of the few times she was truly overjoyed. She could already sense the happiness of the boy, and it made her feel good. She already had someone 'special' to her, as did he. Despite that, they still had a bond no one could take away. A bond of friendship, but maybe, just MAYBE love, someday.

Landing on her feet, the girl ran out to the field.

"Kukai!"

The boy turned with a grin. "Rima!" he exclaimed.

The girl ran up to him, embracing him. She realized that that he had finally called her by her first name, but now was not the time.

_Here's another freeze-frame moment! _The girl thought as she hugged the boy. Then, in a moment of extreme courage, the girl did something she thought she would never do. First she made a shield from the public with her hair, approaching the boy's ear.

"I love you, Kukai. Well, sort of." With that, she kissed him lightly on the apple of his cheek.

The boy's face grew hot as he stood there, stunned for a minute. He needed to freeze this moment in time, in order to properly decide what he was to do, what he was to say to this. Unfortunately, moments like that rarely come up in life. So, he did what the boy had grown accustomed to whenever someone told that they loved him (It's something that grows on you after hundreds of conversations with your relatives.)

"I love you too. Maybe."

The two looked at each other for a second, both unapproachable by the other because of various circumstances. Maybe their paths would cross, maybe not, but they now knew they had compatibility, at least. The boy grinned, and the girl smiled. Now, ain't that just a freeze-frame moment?

**Hooray! I got another one-shot! Did you like it? Yay for Rimakai, a love less common. Please review, I'm going to bed!**

**Love,  
Lola.**


End file.
